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Model S Hybrid?

Hello all!
Has anyone explored the possibility that Model S was designed to be a hybrid and/or could easily be modified to be one? Think about it. The frunk could easily accommodate a range extending engine and the trunk below floor storage could easily accommodate a gas tank. Potentially giving the Model S a combined range of over 600 miles! Do you care to comment Mr Musk?

I bought an electric for a reason. why would i go through the dumb hassle of converting it to a hybrid when theres a lot of great hybryd cars available. also, dont think a gas tank in the frunk would pass safety anymore

I like it! But why not improve the most technologically advanced car ever made even further by adding something even more archaic and obsolete than an internal combustion engine - perhaps the frunk could accomodate a steam engine? Or maybe the Tesla engineers could figure out a way to attach reins to something in the frunk to allow horses to pull the car in the event that extra range is needed?

I thought I wanted a PHEV for the longest time, but ended up getting the Model S after fully understanding the dilemma. This includes dozens of hours test driving and reading reviews of luxury PHEVs well into the $100k price range.

Ultimately what you'll find is that most PHEVs compromise the ICE side, EV side, or worse, both. And you end up with the worst characteristics of each, unless it's purely a HOV sticker tax credit loophole exploiting PHEV that allows you to drive across the parking lot in EV mode before switching to a big gas guzzling engine (not naming any cars specifically).

There's plenty of great options, efficient ICE and transitional PHEV, for those who are not ready to switch to an EV like the Model S. We don't need the Model S to become an afterthought PHEV when it is already a very practical EV.

Hello all!
Has anyone explored the possibility that Model S was designed to be a hybrid and/or could easily be modified to be one? Think about it. The frunk could easily accommodate a range extending engine and the trunk below floor storage could easily accommodate a gas tank. Potentially giving the Model S a combined range of over 600 miles! Do you care to comment Mr Musk?

Click to expand...

There is no question that Tesla could make a (better) i3 REx type hybrid out of the Model S (and X) if they chose to - there's ample space in the Frunk for a small range extender and gas tank.

However, Tesla's mission from the beginning has been to move the industry to sustainable transport, and that's what they are trying to do. Making an EREV version of the S doesn't help them with that in any way I can see - the goal of the Model S was to show the world that an electric car doesn't have to have any compromises (aside from price, of course...)

In terms of component sizing, it wouldn't make sense to build such a big battery pack if you're also going to include a range extender. In that case, you should be aiming to cover normal daily usage electrically, expecting that long trips will require the range extender. GM proved that ~40 miles was enough to cover 80% of all miles driven, and is telling us that they expect 53 miles to cover around 90%. Why would you carry another couple hundred miles of very expensive battery if you're also going to carry a range extender?

There is a lot to be said for a car like the Volt as a transition, and they are great cars. It's not what Tesla wanted the S to be, and so it isn't what they designed. Having a big pack also makes large amounts of power possible - it'd be very hard to get P90D performance levels without the 90 kWh pack.

What I thought was more intriguing was the idea of a recyclable primary battery for the Frunk of a Model S...

At demonstrated performance levels, a 150 pound Aluminum Air pack in the Frunk would double the range - and if they improve it a little, the theoretical limits are over five times that - more than a thousand miles of range in the Frunk. (Of course, then you have to replace the aluminum plates - the proponents of the technology believe that the aluminum could be recycled for something close to the current cost of gas once infrastructure was built out.)

Tesla took a couple patents that seemed related, but we haven't seen anything since - and really I think they're going to focus on more mundane solutions - driving down the cost of Lithium cells while improving capacity, and extending the supercharger network to cover everything. They're already at the point where the typical user won't really feel much impact on a road trip; another 20-30% faster/longer ranged will cover most of the hard core drivers, too.
Walter

Turning the Model S into a hybrid would be a clear step backwards. Those of us who shelled out $70K+ wanted a high performance all electric vehicle. There are plenty of great hybrids out there for a much lower cost. My wife has an Avalon Hybrid (at least till she gets her Model 3) at less than half the price of my 85D, a nicer interior, and 600 miles of range. I believe Toyota is the clear leader in hybrids, but none of them can compare to a Tesla.

Hello all!
Has anyone explored the possibility that Model S was designed to be a hybrid and/or could easily be modified to be one? Think about it. The frunk could easily accommodate a range extending engine and the trunk below floor storage could easily accommodate a gas tank. Potentially giving the Model S a combined range of over 600 miles! Do you care to comment Mr Musk?

The only situation I can think of where you need a generator is if you're trying to drive around remote parts of the world. Perhaps off-roading in your model x for a multi-week trip in the desert. But I think the better solution for that, rather than converting an excellent all electric vehicle into a hybrid, would be to create a hitch-attached diesel generator. Hook it up, take it off when you're no longer in the middle of nowhere.

We looked closely at a range extender architecture for Model S. It ends up costing about the same in vehicle unit cost, a lot more in R&D and a lot more in servicing. Also, although performance is ok when both battery and engine are active at the same time, it turns really bad when the battery runs out and an undersized engine is carrying all the dead weight of the pack. Essentially, a REV is neither fish nor fowl and ends up being worse (in our opinion) than either a gasoline or pure electric vehicle.

Hello all!
Has anyone explored the possibility that Model S was designed to be a hybrid and/or could easily be modified to be one? Think about it. The frunk could easily accommodate a range extending engine and the trunk below floor storage could easily accommodate a gas tank. Potentially giving the Model S a combined range of over 600 miles! Do you care to comment Mr Musk?

Click to expand...

I drove my performance Lexus hybrid yesterday for the first time in the 3 weeks since MS delivery. It was once my favorite auto and as some have said, Toyota is a leader in hybrid technology . Yesterday's driving experience (150000K oil change) was a disappointment on many levels. I agree with the other posts: why go backwards or bastardize a perfectly great automobile!